Defining a digital library

Abstract

Purpose -This editorial seeks to examine the definition of a "digital library" to see whether one can be constructed that usefully distinguishes a digital library from other types of electronic resources. Design/methodology/approach -The primary methodology compares definitions from multiple settings, including formal institutional settings, working definitions from articles, and a synthesis created in a seminar at Humboldt University in Berlin. Findings -At this point, digital libraries are evolving too fast for any lasting definition. Definitions that users readily understand are too broad and imprecise, and definitions with more technical precision quickly grow too obscure for common use. Originality/value -A functional definition of a digital library would add clarity to a burgeoning field, especially when trying to evaluate a resource. The student perspective provides a fresh look at the problem.

Lehrstuhl Digital Library / Lehrstuhl Digitale Bibliothek / La chaire bibliothèques numériques

“…Digital libraries have changed substantially in their scope and purpose during the last decade. Students helped to develop a definition in a 2006 class that was later published as an article (Seadle, 2007), but this definition now seems too limited. The article is used nonetheless both as an example of how students can think about the issue and as an example of change.…”

Dijital Kütüphanelerin E-Öğrenmedeki Rolü ve Önemi

“…Dijital kütüphaneler konusunda ders alan öğrenciler tarafından 2000'li yılların başlarında gerçekleştirilen bir araştırmada, 64 farklı dijital kütüphane tanımı keşfedilmiştir (Schwartz, 2000). Seadle ve Greifeneder (2007), dijital kütüphanelerin kalıcı bir şekilde tanımlamak için çok genç olduklarını düşünmektedir. Ancak hemen ardından, onların bugün nasıl görüldüklerinin ve tanımlandıklarının, gelecek nesil kütüphanecilerin dijital dünyadaki misyonlarını nasıl kavramsallaştıracaklarında belirleyici olacağının altını çizmektedir.…”

Communities, Innovation, and Critical Mass: Understanding the Impact of Digitization on Scholarship in the Humanities Through the Case of Tibetan and Himalayan Studies

“…At some point in the mid 1990's, though, there was a shift from talking about use of library materials (print and electronic) to use of "digital libraries" (Covi and Kling, 1996), yet there is still no consensual definition of a "digital library." Much of the scholarship in this area therefore begins with an attempt to define a "digital library" and each does so with significant 44 variation (Arms, 2000;Borgman, 2000;Brophy, 1999;Harter, 1997;Seadle & Greifeneder, 2007). The Digital Library Federation's (DLF) initial working definition, for example, states:…”